WhatsApp for JioPhone gets delayed, but YouTube’s coming soon to all users

The company says users will be able to download YouTube after a system update.

Last month, at Reliance Industries Limited’s 41st Annual General Meeting (AGM), the company launched the JioPhone 2, the successor to the original JioPhone. At the launch, it was announced that both JioPhone and JioPhone 2 would soon support popular apps such as Facebook, WhatsApp Messenger, and YouTube.

Now that JioPhone 2 is available for purchase, it seems customers will have to wait a little to use WhatsApp on the ‘smart’ featurephone.

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WhatsApp (and YouTube) were supposed to launch for JioPhone and JioPhone 2 this week, but that hasn’t happened.

According to The Quint, the company has confirmed that YouTube has already been made available on the JioStore, and users will be able to download the app after a system update is gradually rolled out in the coming days.

As for WhatsApp, there’s no fixed time-frame as to when the app will be available for JioPhone and JioPhone 2. It seems users will just have to wait and keep their eyes peeled.

Watch: JioPhone First Look

Having a price tag of Rs 2,999, the JioPhone 2 is a solid upgrade over its predecessor. The phone features a full QWERTY keypad, along with a 2.4-inch QVGA display. In terms of hardware, the new JioPhone 2 is mostly the same as the original JioPhone. It comes with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage, and there’s also a memory expansion slot that can accept microSD cards of up to 128GB. For imaging, JioPhone 2 has a 2MP rear camera and a 0.3MP front-facing snapper. The whole package is backed by a 2,000mAh battery.

Connectivity features on the JioPhone 2 include dual-SIM functionality, VoLTE, VoWi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.